Arifureta Zero: Volume 1 Read online

  “Ah—”

  Davy leaned backward and fell into the gorge.

  He put an end to his own life, as if denying the right to let Miledi execute him.

  The wind blew across the empty platform. No one was standing on it now. For a while, Miledi just stood there.

  From then on, Miledi often sunk deep into thought. She continued fulfilling her duty, but she would spend just a little more time talking to the condemned, asking questions her job didn’t require her to. She came to learn what kinds of people these criminals were.

  Even she wasn’t sure why she did it. As she continued, though, something began building inside of her.

  One of the criminals was a man who’d lived by the northern lake. He had loved that lake, and prayed to the creature living inside it every day. That was a sin.

  Another criminal was a merchant. He had given medicine to a wounded demon. The demon had been grateful for his aid, and the two had formed a lasting friendship. That was a sin.

  Yet another was a mother. She had begged the Holy Church not to take her gifted child, at least not until they’d grown into an adult. That was a sin.

  Yet another had been a beastman youth. That was a sin.

  Were they really sins, though? Some of the condemned were certainly criminals, and many of them deserved to be punished. But were their crimes truly deserving of death? Miledi couldn’t allow herself to ask such questions. One did not question absolutes. Especially not if they were a Reisen.

  Though Miledi kept telling herself that, the doubt that had been planted in her mind that day continued to grow.

  One day, a maid walked up to Miledi.

  “From today onward, I will be your personal attendant. My name is Belle. It is a pleasure to serve you, Milady.” The maid’s curtsy was perfect. Her red hair was tied neatly behind her back with a ribbon. She was, without a doubt, beautiful.

  When Miledi asked why she had been given a maid, Colt answered. According to him, by the age of ten she had acquired most of the knowledge necessary to be considered a full-fledged member of the Reisen family.

  In a few years, he would no longer act as an intermediary for her duties. She would be expected to deal with the emperor and the Holy Church on her own.

  Belle was the daughter of a nobleman’s mistress, but she had been brought up with a proper noble’s education, so she would act as both Miledi’s maid, and her tutor, filling in the last few remaining gaps in Miledi’s knowledge.

  Miledi knew this day would come. She had no right to refuse, nor did she have any reason to. However, she wasn’t the same girl she had been. With all the thinking she’d been doing recently, she found having a maid teaching her proper grace and refinement distracting.

  Still, after spending one month with Belle, Miledi had to admit she was an efficient teacher. No matter the situation, Belle never let her facade of elegance fade. Though it made her appear a bit stiff at times, it was still impressive.

  In time, Miledi learned to conduct herself in the same manner.

  Miledi was grateful for the fact that though Belle was with her at all times, she only spoke when necessary.

  However, she could feel that Belle’s eyes were always on her... though maybe that was just because she wanted to do her job as a tutor properly. After all, it is a teacher’s duty to watch her pupil’s actions closely.

  Though at times it felt like Belle’s gaze had some other meaning behind it. Miledi shook those thoughts off, deciding not to get in the way of Belle’s job. She had no interest in getting close to her, so there was no reason to think too deeply about Belle’s actions.

  The day after Miledi came to that decision, something happened. For once, Belle hadn’t followed her around all day. After she finished her work, Miledi returned to her room. She casually opened the door to her bedroom and found—

  “Oh, welcome back, Miledi-tan~ You sure work hard for someone so small~” Belle was waiting for her.

  And she’d greeted Miledi in a ridiculously cutesy way. Belle was sitting on Miledi’s table eating some cake.

  Did she just call me Miledi...tan?

  “......”

  “Oh? Oh my, what’s wrong, Miledi-tan? It looks like you’re wondering why your prim and proper tutor is acting like this.”

  “......”

  Belle grinned at Miledi. This was the first time she had seen her tutor smile. Belle looked satisfied, as if she’d pulled off the biggest prank.

  Once the shock had worn off, Miledi found herself...

  “Hello? Earth to Miledi-tan? Squishy-cheeked Miledi-tan~ If you’re in there, then say something~ You’re going to make me cry~”

  Disgusted. She found herself disgusted.

  Belle wrapped an arm around Miledi’s shoulder and pinched her cheeks.

  Miledi had never been treated like this before. Though she was irritated, she was at a loss for how to react.

  Belle was being exceedingly rude. She was the illegitimate daughter of a noble, while Miledi was a member of the powerful Reisen family.

  Someone of Belle’s station could be executed for acting so casually, given the difference in status.

  “Do you want to die?” It seemed Miledi had been even angrier than she’d realized. Normally, she would never have retaliated like that.

  The threat had a different level of weight when it was muttered by an executioner.

  However, Belle didn’t seem to mind.

  “Come on, don’t be so glum. Are you this cranky because your boobs are small?”

  “Shut up!” This was the first time Miledi had ever yelled at anyone, and it had been over a stupid jab at her chest size.

  Though Belle’s breasts were certainly something to envy. They were two mountains of enormous proportions.

  Miledi was still a child, so naturally hers hadn’t developed yet, but that didn’t make the insult sting any less. She was honestly surprised she cared that much about being feminine.

  Belle shrank back and stared joyfully at Miledi.

  “She got mad... Our Miledi-tan actually got mad!”

  Miledi took a deep breath to calm herself down.

  “Is this what you’re really like?”

  “Yep!” Belle grinned mischievously. Miledi did her best to hold in her mounting anger.

  “I have no idea what you hoped to achieve by doing this, but do you really think such rudeness will go unpunished?”

  “I do!”

  Miledi activated her gravity magic, and Belle sunk to the floor. Unfortunately, the floor in this instance was a very luxurious carpet. It probably felt good to lay on it.

  “What were you thinking?” Exasperated, Miledi canceled her magic. Belle continued rolling contentedly on the floor, heedless of Miledi’s glare.

  “I wanted to be your friend, Miledi-tan.”

  “......” Miledi blinked in confusion.

  “I’ve been watching you for this past month, and I’ve decided I like you quite a bit, so I figured we might as well be friends. What’s so weird about that?”

  Am I supposed to laugh at that? I wasn’t taught how to deal with this situation. The teachings of the Reisen family had no wisdom to offer Miledi. Without them to fall back on, she found herself confused.

  “Hey, Miledi-tan, say something. Come here. Come on, it feels good.” Belle spread herself out on the carpet and patted it invitingly.

  Do you realize how unbecoming it would be for someone of my station to do something so ridiculous? Miledi knew she should report Belle for acting improperly and have her dismissed.

  “Hehehe. Welcome, Miledi-tan.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  But before she knew it, she’d walked up to Belle. She spread herself over the carpet, her instincts ignoring the voice of reason that was screaming at her to stop.

  It was quite fluffy. This was the first time she’d ever lain on it. Sleeping on the floor was something a noble lady should never do, after all. However—

  “Well? Comfy, rig
ht?” Miledi ignored Belle, who had ruined the moment. She could see Belle grinning again out of the corner of her eye. A strange, indescribable feeling welled up within Miledi.

  Miledi pouted and turned away from Belle.

  Still, she couldn’t deny what she’d discovered.

  Being on the floor like this was exhilarating.

  Despite Belle’s excessive rudeness, Miledi couldn’t bring herself to punish her. In fact, she couldn’t even bring herself to get her fired, or even report her. From then on, Miledi’s odd relationship with Belle continued.

  Around her, Miledi couldn’t keep her composure. The emotions she’d locked away for so long escaped their cages when Belle was around.

  However, the two only acted like that around each other. In the presence of anyone else, Belle was the perfect maid, while Miledi was the dutiful, obedient daughter.

  Even then, though, hints of their true personalities shone through.

  One time Colt had been distracted by something when he’d been giving Miledi her instructions for the day. Miledi had taken that opportunity to blow a silent raspberry at him. Belle had given her a thumbs-up for that. Miledi found herself addicted to the thrill of breaking rules and began to incorporate gravity magic into her pranks.

  Another time Belle had brought sweets to Miledi’s room and they’d stuffed themselves silly. Belle had claimed she’d bought them from somewhere, but they had tasted distinctly like the desserts the Reisen chef made. Miledi had strung up Belle for lying while continuing to wolf down the stolen sweets. The despair on Belle’s face as Miledi had eaten through them all had made her week.

  As payback, Belle had given Miledi a very special book. She’d told Miledi it was a popular romance novel. She’d kept pestering Miledi to read it until finally she caved in and opened it up... only to discover it was erotic fiction. Very explicit erotic fiction.

  Belle had teased Miledi for days afterward about how red she’d gotten.

  “Miledi-tan, what did you think of the book? How’d it make you feel? Hey, Miledi-tan, say something. It looked like you were really into it! So, what was it like? Come on, tell me!”

  In the end Miledi had snapped and hung Belle from the ceiling for a day.

  As those days continued, Miledi realized she was beginning to change. She couldn’t express it very well, but she felt herself growing, well, looser. Or perhaps softer was a more accurate term. She could feel it.

  She became certain of her transformation one day around two months after learning of Belle’s true nature.

  Belle was fixing her hair for her, and Miledi caught sight of her face in the mirror.

  She had a relaxed expression on her face. That surprised her. Quite a bit, too.

  That’s me? Since when did I start looking so lax? Miledi took her eyes off her own face and found Belle smiling at her.

  Miledi blushed and looked away, but it had been nice, having someone smile at her.

  That feeling would end up changing Miledi’s fate, though she didn’t know it at the time.

  Today too, Miledi had been ordered by Colt to interview a criminal.

  The condemned was a young man charged with the crime of falling in love with a beastman, which made him a heretic.

  “You went against the teachings of Ehit. A crime deserving of death. Do you admit to your crime?” Miledi read out the charges and asked the usual question.

  Regardless of his answer, his fate was sealed. As always, he didn’t seem to see the error of his ways and railed at Miledi.

  “What do you mean a crime deserving of death? I did nothing wrong!”

  “However, you did fall in love with—”

  “Is love a sin!?”

  “It...” Miledi stopped short. A few months ago, she would have said “it is” without hesitation. But now, after all she’d come to learn, she couldn’t get the words out of her mouth.

  “If you deny you ever loved that woman, even if that’s just a lie, it may prove your devotion to Ehit. Your life may yet be spared.”

  “Huh?” Even the young man hadn’t been expecting that reply. He’d yelled at Miledi precisely because he’d known there was no saving him now.

  However, the girl standing before him now had a troubled expression on her face. He stared at her in amazement.

  “I can put in a request for a retrial, but don’t expect too much. If it goes through, lie like your life depends on it. For her sake, too.”

  “Huh? Ah, w-wait!”

  Miledi walked away without responding. This was the first time she’d truly broken an absolute.

  In the end, her request for a retrial was denied by Colt before it even made it to the Holy Church. She had been expecting that, of course.

  The execution was moved up, and the man was dropped into the gorge the same day.

  But things no longer continued as always.

  Miledi had done something uncharacteristic in asking her father for a retrial.

  She had been so efficient at her job that her father had been planning on making her the next head, yet she had covered for a criminal. That wasn’t something Colt could ignore.

  Who is it? Who is it that corrupted the future head of the Reisen family? Who put these ideas into her head? Colt poured all of his family’s resources into finding the culprit.

  As a result—

  “Belle!”

  “Miledi-sama...”

  Miledi watched as Colt’s soldiers rushed into her room and arrested Belle.

  Miledi rounded on Colt, who had followed in after his soldiers.

  “Father, what is the meaning of this? She is my—”

  “Your what, exactly?”

  Miledi flinched. His voice was colder than ice. Colt threw a sheaf of documents at her. As she read their contents, Miledi’s eyes went wide.

  “That woman is a member of an anti-church organization. We are currently conducting an investigation into the noble who vouched for her identity. She’s someone to be feared if she truly did manipulate a noble family... Take her away.” At Colt’s command, the soldiers roughly marched Belle away.

  “B-Belle!”

  “It’s all true, Miledi-tan.” Despite the situation, Belle smiled. Colt and the others assumed her words were a confession. They thought now that her secret had been revealed, she’d decided to admit her deception. However, Miledi knew. She knew what those words really meant.

  Belle meant those days they’d spent together and the smiles they’d shared had all been real. They were no lie.

  Miledi tried to chase after Belle, but Colt stopped her with a few harsh words.

  “Letting yourself be fooled by a heretic was a serious blunder. Compose yourself, Miledi Reisen. This is your last chance. A Reisen who cannot perform their duty is of no value.” Miledi stopped in her tracks.

  Colt harrumphed, and with one last disappointed look, he left the room.

  An oppressive silence followed. Miledi simply stood there, staring at the door.

  That night, Miledi slipped past the guards and headed to the prison. She was going to meet Belle.

  “......” When she reached Belle’s cell, she was speechless. Belle had clearly been tortured. Deep cuts fresh enough to still be bleeding covered her from head to toe. She had been handcuffed to the wall, from which she hung limply.

  “Oh? Miledi...tan? You... came?” She spoke slowly, pausing between words. The pain in her voice was evident. Still, Belle lifted her face and grinned at Miledi.

  Tears formed in Miledi’s eyes. On her way here she’d agonized about what she wanted to say, what she wanted to ask. She hadn’t been able to figure it out. But now, with Belle in front of her, the words spilled out on their own.

  “Belle... I’ll help you somehow, so tell me everything. I’ll beg the Holy Church. I’ll save your life, I promise!” Miledi figured she might be able to convince the Holy Church to use Belle’s knowledge to topple the rest of her organization.

  She knew it was a long shot. It was a terrible plan,
but it was the best she had. The absolutes she’d grown up with and her lack of knowledge about the outside world weighed her down. As she was, this was all she could come up with.

  However, when Belle saw Miledi crying and clinging to the bars, she smiled. The happiness in that smile was genuine.

  “No thanks~”

  “Huh?” Miledi looked up in surprise. She couldn’t believe it.

  “Bahaha... What’s with that look? You’re ruining your good looks with that expression. Well, I guess you always were a hopeless beauty. Hehehee...”

  “B-Belle!” This wasn’t any time for jokes. Miledi grew angry and yelled at Belle.

  Still, Belle just smiled kindly back. As Miledi had asked, she would tell her everything.

  “Miledi, let me tell you my real name.”

  “Belle’s not your real name?”

  “Yep. My name is Belta Lievre. I was originally a member of the Lievre family. My family’s been archbishops of the Holy Church for generations. And I was the divine priestess who’d received Ehit’s blessing.”

  “A divine priestess...” Miledi didn’t know what to say.

  A divine priestess was someone who had received a revelation directly from Ehit. They were among the highest ranked members of the Holy Church. They held no direct political power, but their influence was as great as the pope’s.

  “When I was around your age, I also spent my time fulfilling my appointed duty. I’m an Atavist too, so I can use special magic... Mine’s divination. It lets me see the possible paths a person’s future can go down.”

  “The paths a person’s future can go down...”

  Miledi absently repeated Belta’s words. For some reason, they left a deep impression on her.

  “Every day, I saw tons of people who wanted to change their fate. There should have been ways for all of them to achieve happiness, but their fates had been distorted by the values, the doctrines, and the principles of the Holy Church. Whether it ended up good or bad for us, everything bent to His will.”

  “His” will. Miledi could guess who Belta meant. Their lord and creator, Ehit.